Third-party and affiliate marketing reviews

Many of the reviews you and your ecommerce brand are already aware of and using in your marketing will be created by your customers. However, one of the most important types of review comes from third-party reviewers.

Third-party reviews are published by sites whose goal and purpose is usually to be an expert in a niche area. They can also be affiliate review — where the site reviews your product and includes a link that will get them a commission for any sale that comes through that link.

If you have an affiliate scheme, then getting your ecommerce brand reviewed by a powerful third-party site can help improve your revenue. This is because affiliate marketing reviews are designed to rank well in search engines and drive a lot of traffic.

The resulting ‘reviews’ received as replies to this question produced 1,800 words of content. If you adopt the same approach and receive a similar level of content in response then your reviews will give you plenty of material produce a long-form blog post.

“Quotes work well because in general, people can easily relate to them, because of that, they get liked and shared easily compared to more targeted content.”

You can use quotes where your customers give concise reviews of your ecommerce brand and increase the chances of your brand’s social media followers connecting with your business. Adding quotes to your website can help to inspire greater faith in your brand.

Check out how Canadian ecommerce brand Shopify, one of the biggest companies within their industry, use customer quotes on their websites:

The reviews above are a great example of how social proof can help break down complex processes like building an ecommerce store and equate it with customer success in a way that’s reassuring and compelling. Short, concise, and to-the-point quotes work best.

Posts made on your social media accounts

Social media isn’t just an outlet for you to engage with your followers: it’s also a valuable source of free information. Customer reviews on social media get a lot of views and engagements.

There are a number of ways that you can leverage your social media reviews to benefit your brand, such as:

Responding to your reviews promptly: This shows your customers that your ecommerce brand cares about them. It also gives you a chance to turn a negative review into a positive outcome

Turning your customers into brand ambassadors: Your customers trust their fellow customers as much as their friends and family. If you can use their words to speak on behalf of your brand you will increase the likelihood of your customers engaging positively with your brand

Vi Trainer is a great example of a brand that leverages customer reviews posted to its social media accounts. Check out this post from Vi Trainer’s Facebook to see an example:

There are pros and cons to both types of influencer. However, while macro influencers have larger audiences, micro influencers get up to 500% more engagement from their users.

In order for your ecommerce brand to get a review from an influencer, you will need to connect with them and then set up a paid campaign. There are a number of different platforms available that allow you to connect with the right influencer for your brand.

One of the best examples of how a review from an influencer can boost you brand is alcoholic beverage company Diageo’s campaign with American actor Nick Offerman.

In a campaign to promote Diageo’s whiskey, Lagavulin, Offerman offers a glowing review of the product in a 45 minute video in which he doesn’t speak once. Currently the video has received nearly 3,5 million views. Check out the video below and get some ideas for how your brand can leverage reviews from social media influencers.

Reviews are extremely important to your ecommerce brand. A review can be used to bring greater attention to your brand and greater engagement with your customers.

The 5 types of reviews every ecommerce brand needs I’ve covered in this article are a great starting point for your ecommerce brand. So start using them ASAP and your ecommerce brand will be even more successful than it already is.

Patrick Foster is an ecommerce pro from Ecommerce Tips — an industry-leading ecommerce blog that shares the latest insights from the sector, spanning everything from business growth hacks, to product development. Check out the latest posts on Twitter to get ideas and tips on how to take your brand to the next level: @myecommercetips.